Livestock is savaged in second dog attack

POLICE are hunting for dog owners following an attack on livestock in Steyning.

A baby alpaca was savaged last Thursday, the second attack of its kind in as many months.

Owner Lindy Moors said she could not believe it had happened again, despite an electric fence to protect her livestock.

Four-month-old alpaca Harry lost its mum a month after the birth and is now being bottle-fed at the property, in King Barn Lane.

Mrs Moors said the first attack was in September, when a dog escaped from its owners while they were blackberry picking.

“The dog entered my property and attacked all my goats, alpacas and horse,” she said. “One of the goats took the most severe of the injuries, but I was very concerned for my baby alpaca, who had only lost his mum a few weeks earlier.”

On that occasion, the owners of the dog accepted full responsibility and paid the vet’s bills. This time, however, the family ran off, having retrieved their dog from Mrs Moors’ field.

She said a man and two boys knocked on her door at 5pm on Thursday. They found the dog in the field, using a torch, but as the family left, Mrs Moors spotted Harry’s injuries.

“Harry had been attacked, savaged at the throat. I told the man and he, the dog and his boys ran off. I chased them but they sped off so fast, without turning the lights on, so I couldn’t get the registration.

“I can’t believe how irresponsible and how uncaring that man was. I phoned and took Harry straight to the vets, he had lost lots of blood and his clinical signs were very erratic.”

The baby alpaca was stabilised before an operation and is now home with two drains from the neck and various wounds to the throat.

“He is having to stay in a stable away from his friends until after Friday, when the vet will remove the drains and reassess him,” explained Mrs Moors.

“He isn’t happy being alone and I’m sure even more scared because of his experience.”

She is appealing for help to trace the owners of the dog.

“I just can’t believe this happened again, we have lived here for nearly 15 years and never had any trouble and now two dog attacks in as many months. Both dogs were with their owners, they weren’t strays. We have fencing all round with three rows of electric fence all at different heights.”

The car was a dark blue estate and the boys were aged about six and eight. They and a woman were seen and heard screaming in a neighbouring field and there were three dogs, two greyhounds or lurchers and one terrier.